The Carnivorous Plant Society set up a conservation fund in 1998.  The aim of the fund is to provide support to conservation projects where carnivorous plants are to be saved, their habitat protected from destruction, cultivated for reintroductions to wild sites, or where key sites can be used as an educational resource.

The Society guarantees an amount of money will be made available each year for conservation purposes. There is no guarantee that funding will be fully used each year and any unused funds are carried forward to subsequent years.

Funding for these projects is collected by the Society from donations, and financial gifts, and through the sale of plants at Society open days and meetings, in the form of plant auctions.

The first plant auction at the 1999 AGM raised £176, and so the fund was born.  Subsequent plant auctions have proved equally successful and have been a big help in raising conservation funds.

In recent years, with the proliferation of carnivorous plant discussion groups on the internet, we have been receiving generous donations towards the fund from the UK plant forum. Join the forum here http://www.cpukforum.com/

This our new Conservation Donation Tin, desigined and built by Bryan Pinchen. This will be used at the AGM, Chelsea, NEC, and end of year meetings. So if you see this plant, please feed it your money!

Please make a donation to the conservation fund. Download this form or go here, and mail the completed form with your donation to the appropriate address. Thank you.

Four projects in the UK, Ireland, and USA have already benefited from donations made from the conservation fund.

Applications are invited from any persons or organisations with a project that directly affects carnivorous plants. In particular, priority will be given to UK based projects which feature conservation of native carnivorous plants, benefits to habitats, native wildlife and biodiversity. Projects which also benefit the Society and/or its Membership, or which have a strong educational influence will also be given a high priority. All applications will be considered by the Conservation Officer who will then refer the application to a sub-committee for approval. Please download this zip file containing the application form and application notes. To contact the Conservation Officer use the postal address on the form, please include an SAE for a reply.

Projects supported by the Conservation Fund

Atlanta Botanical Gardens - 1998

In 1998, using funds already within the Society, a donation of £500 was made to the Atlanta Botanical Gardens (ABG) Conservation Programme.

The funding was provided to help the ABG carry out vital habitat restoration work, and propagation of three rare pitcher plant species.

The pitcher plants Sarracenia rubra ssp. jonesii, S. alabamensis and S. oreophila have declined to the point of near extinction in the States of Georgia, Alabama and South Carolina.

Experts at the ABG are working to restore damaged and mismanaged sites to their former condition, and will look at reintroducing the carnivorous plant species and other interesting flora which have been lost.  The plants for reintroduction are being raised and propagated at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens.
The survival of these pitcher plants and a range of other species rely on the full collaboration of the landowners, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, The Nature Conservancy and the National Heritage Program, as well as the support of private individuals and the ABG.

The Carnivorous Plant Society is proud to have been able to help with the conservation of these special sites and their unique flora.

For further information visit the Atlanta Botanical Gardens website: http://www.atlantabotanicalgarden.org/

Irish Peatland Conservation Council - 2000.

In 2000, using funds acquired through donations and plant auctions, we made a donation of £250 to the Irish Peatland Conservation Council (IPCC).
This donation helped towards the purchase and management of land at Fenor Bog, Co. Waterford, Eire.

Fenor Bog is a 32 acre alkaline fen with a mixture of wet woodland, open water, fen and bog habitat.  Rich in wildlife over 200 species of plant, bird, insect and animals have been recorded on the bog to date. A number of carnivorous plant species occur.
Conservation management work, partly funded by the donation made by the Carnivorous Plant Society, includes the installation of stock-proof fencing, raising water levels, pond construction and removal of non-native and invasive tree species.
Educational and interpretation facilities have also been provided on site, along with an extensive raised boardwalk across the wetter parts of the bog, to enable safe visiting without damaging fragile habitat of the bog.

In early 2004, as a result of the conservation work carried out, Fenor Bog was designated as a National Nature Reserve.

The Carnivorous Plant Society is proud to have been able to help with the purchase and safeguard of this important conservation site.

For further information visit the IPCC website: http://www.ipcc.ie/

Meadowview Biological Research Station - 2003.

In 2003, a donation of £500 was made to the Meadowview Biological Research Station in Virginia, USA.

This donation has gone towards the purchase of land at the Joseph Pines Reserve in Sussex County, Virginia.

This is the last remaining natural site in Virginia for the Yellow Pitcher Plant, Sarracenia flava.  Less than 100 clumps of this striking plant remain in four native sites in Virginia. Meadowview is currently maintaining six populations of this species at its research facility, with the view to reintroducing them to this reserve when the habitat has been restored.

The reserve also holds important populations of the rare Longleaf Pine Pinus palustris, and it is hoped to cultivate this species in order to save it from extinction.
The currently unsuitable land of the reserve area, which has been mis-managed and degraded, will be restored to suitable habitat for a number of carnivorous and other plant, species.

As a means of thanking the Carnivorous Plant Society for our generous donation, Meadowview provided the Society seed bank with seeds from a number of Sarracenia hybrids, which were unavailable elsewhere.

The Carnivorous Plant Society is proud to have been able to help ensure the survival of these important plant populations.

For further information visit the Meadowview website:  http://www.bealenet.com/ or http://www.pitcherplant.org/

Irish Peatland Conservation Council - 2004.

In 2004, the Carnivorous Plant Society helped the Irish Peatland Conservation Council (IPCC) again, this time, with a much more ambitious project.

The IPCC had recently moved into new premises in Rathangan, Co. Kildare.  Attached to their new headquarters is a large greenhouse.  The CPS helped set this greenhouse up as a living carnivorous plant exhibit, for conservation, research and education purposes.

The design of the greenhouse was produced by the CPS Conservation Officer; plants for the exhibit were being donated from the collections of the Society committee members and the membership.  A selection of seed was also donated from the CPS seedbank.

In September 2004, the CPS Conservation Officer took these plants to Ireland, and spent a week helping with the construction and planting of the exhibit.
The new visitor centre and carnivorous plant exhibit was formally opened in July 2005.

The Carnivorous Plant Society is pleased to be able to provide the IPCC with what is one of the largest permanent carnivorous plant exhibits in the UK.

For further information visit the IPCC website at: http://www.ipcc.ie/

To apply for funding or to contact the Conservation Officer please use the address on these forms.